Former secular artiste, Chevelle Franklin, who has been singing for the Lord for more than eight years now, is among the acts billed to perform at the Best Dressed 50 Fest series of events. The festival, which is part of Best Dressed Chicken's commemoration of 50 years in existence, kicks off this weekend in Mandeville. The festival moves into Montego Bay on May 2, before culminating in Kingston on May 4.

Franklin has promised that fans can expect whatever the Lord puts into her. "I have passed the stage of entertainment and it's not about that for me. People need to be reconnected with God in this season," Franklin explained in a recent interview.

Before her conversion to Christianity, Franklin rode high in local music circles with a handful of hits including Dancehall Queen (with Beenie Man) Nice and Naughty, Mr. Lover Man (with Shabba Ranks), No Push Over, and the chart-topping ballad Here I Am (which spent seven weeks at number one in 1990).

Franklin last released an album of new material three years ago. A new gospel album is currently in the works, and she hopes to put the final touches on the set with Sly and Robbie and Mikey Bennett over the next few months. "The album is called Set Apart and it's coming out later this year. I also just finished working on an album with a South African group which is coming out in May. In addition to all of that, I have also been traveling a lot," said Franklin.

Asked whether she missed the secular world, Franklin snapped "No I don't! I am free now and what I was doing was not what God wanted me to do. But whenever I travel I see a lot of the artistes like Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. But there is nothing in me that desires to go back to secular music."

Chevelle was born in Tawes Pen, St Catherine in 1974. Even as a child, she reportedly had a strong sense of the spiritual. Something of a protégé, she was spotted by reggae producer Rohan Harrison and at 14 she recorded her first single, Here I Am (though it wasn't released until she was 17). Nurtured by some of the top Jamaican music producers, Chevelle soon marked out a distinctive territory in Jamaica's dancehall scene. She began working with producers Mikey Bennett and Rohan Harrison and recorded a hit, Nice And Naughty, followed by another single, No Pushover, in 1992.

This led to collaborations with household names such as Spragga Benz for A1 Lover in 1996 and Shabba Ranks for Mr Lover Man in 1991. In 1997, Chevelle recorded the international hit Dancehall Queen with Beenie Man, for Island Records. The soundtrack was used for the equally successful movie of the same name. By 1997 Chevelle was a household name in the Caribbean, the UK and the USA.

Said Chevelle, "It was while having the hits I got saved. The reason why I say that is because people would say maybe because nothing was happening in my career was the reason why I became a Christian. But that was totally not true. Christ was missing from my life. I got saved whilst I was touring. I was just empty. Something was missing from my life and I didn't know what it was."

The Best Dressed 50 Fest will feature performances from Prodigal Son, Carlene Davis, DJ Nicholas, Toby Mac, and Papa San, among others.

R City bringing the Caribbean flavour to the R&B world
They are originally from St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and today they are one of the most in-demand songwriters in the hip hop and R&B world. The duo R City, which is signed to KonLive/Geffen Records is set to release its debut album Wake The Neighbours.

Among the acts that R City has written and produced tracks for are Akon, Usher, Mario, Sean Kingston, Rodney Jerkins, Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls, Jesse McCartney, Macy Gray, Ashlee Simpson and Enrique Iglesias.

R City (comprising brothers Theron a/k/a Da Spokesman and Timothy a/k/a Don't Talk Much) have created a sound that blends Caribbean twangs of consciousness and struggles of street and island life coupled with hip-hop/pop appeal.

"We've always been writers for ourselves. Then me and my brother were like, let's try to write for other people", said Timothy. Landing in Atlanta after a short stint in Miami, they began writing songs for other artistes and placed their first song The Rain for Akon via his DJ, Benny D.

In a short time, R City has penned a number of tunes for well known artistes. "We built a lot of relationships, got cool with a lot of people, networked and found ourselves in a lot of doors we never thought we were going to enter. When we started doing the writing thing, everybody started messing with us," says Timothy.

The fact that their music is a genre bender isn't lost on the siblings. "Give us the opportunity to be ourselves because what we're doing, nobody has ever done." It's never been about money with us, to be honest. We don't drink or smoke, or go to clubs. So when people are in the club partying, we work, when they sleep, we work, when they work, we work. So at the end of the day, we are going to get more work done than anybody," says Timothy

A Fiery name change from Kulcha Melody

Deejay/singer Fiery knew he was always destined to be an entertainer. Now after much determination and a name change from Kulcha Melody, this Guys Hill, St Ann native is on the move with his latest single Life Over Death.

The musical journey for Fiery has been one of sweat and tears. Born Sheldon Faulkner, he was brought up in a Seventh Day Adventist Christian household. The young Faulkner would hone his skills while singing on the church choir in his community of Castle Kelly.

Later on, he began performing at school and community events and earned the moniker Little Prophet. His musical hero at around that time was Capleton.

While contemplating his next move careerwise, he retreated into solitude, where myriad voices spoke, and where he listened and wrote. While attending the HEART Academy in St Ann, he was requested to perform at the Moneague Teachers College. Armed with an original song titled Weh Dem a Go Do, his performance went down well and he quickly established a name for himself in and around several communities.

He would later abort his mason and steel fabrication training at HEART Academy to pursue his musical endeavours. Roof International Studio in Ocho Rios flung open its doors for him, and he would later hone his craft under the guidance of the experienced team at that entity,

While the business didn't reap immediate benefits for him financially, he took a job opportunity in corporate Jamaica to assist himself financially. He would later record for several producers, including Bunny 'Striker' Lee, Leroy Scarlett, Bobby Digital and Sheldon 'Calibud' Stewart. It was Stewart who suggested that he change his name to Kulcha Melody.
His recording, Lord Have Mercy, produced by Stewart got some good rotation on FM radio. The feedback he got from the song renewed his confidence and he went back into the studio to brew another pot of stew with Stress, I'm lonely and Africa. The Lion Paw label would later produce the track Can't You Feel My Pain.

Barry Boom of Triple B Entertainment would later take him under his guidance.

"The sky is the limit. There's a lot to be heard from Fiery', Fiery said confidently.

Bits and Pieces
Trinidadian roots reggae artiste Jah Melody will release his debut album, Be Prepared, on May 6 on VP Records. The album features production work from the likes of Bobby Digital and Carl James.

The video for Beenie Man's chart riding single Wine Gal was directed by Ras Tingle on Tuesday April 22 inside the Asylum Nightclub. The video features lots of hot girls which should provide some eye candy for male viewers.

After winning most of the major awards for which she was nominated earlier this year, singer Etana is set to unleash her debut album Etana the Strong One on June 17 via VP Records.

With 463,000 copies sold in its first week of release, Mariah Carey's new album E=MC2 easily takes over the number one spot on Billboard's 200 album chart. It is Mariah's 6th number one Pop album. Her sales burst is the biggest so far this year.

Another weekly dancehall session has come to the fore. Dancehall artiste Assassin will be promoting his Girls Gone Wild session every Tuesday at Weekenz in Kingston. The session kicks off on May 6 and will feature new selectors, drink specials and giveaways for the ladies each week. And ladies guess what? You will enter free!

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World